15 players you forgot suited up for the Denver Nuggets
By Dean Hasan
15. Ralph Simpson (1974-76, 1977-78)
Simpson has better stats and more accolades than a lot of the guys ahead of him, but he lands at 15 since he’s more of a technicality, yet he’s arguably not forgettable if you were a 1970s ABA fan or an NBA fan in the mid-1970s.
Simpson began his career with the Denver Rockets, who eventually changed their name to the Denver Nuggets (DEN) to start the 1974-75 season.
During his six seasons with Denver, four of which were with the Rockets, Simpson made the (ABA) All-Star team five times and was named All-ABA three times. Simpson also made the ABA Finals with the Nuggets in the 1975-76 season, but Denver would fall to the New York Nets in six games.
His best season was in 1971-72 with the Denver Rockets, where he averaged 27.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game on 46.0 percent shooting. During his two seasons with the ABA Nuggets, he put up 19.3 points, 6.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game on 50.8 percent shooting from the field.
Following the 1975-76 ABA season, Simpson switched to the Detroit Pistons for his first year in the NBA, but he’d eventually return to the (now-NBA) Nuggets halfway through the 1977-78 season.
He played 32 games with the Nuggets that year. However, his play was a far cry from the prime Ralph Simpson that fans grew to love earlier in the decade. Simpson averaged just 5.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists a night and his 31.7 percent shooting left a lot to be desired.